Mac N Cheese

 This week I made one of my favorite meals, Mac n cheese, which has been a comfort food forever. Though I usually make the boxed craft version, I decided to give it a try and make some homemade. It definitely did not turn out how I expected. The directions of this recipe tell you to cook the macaroni in the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients, however this resulted in mushy and odd tasting noodles. I then looked up online why this happened and found out that cooking noodles in the crockpot tends to lead to this because the warm temperatures of the liquid cook the pasta but never reach a boil so the noodles aren't cooked correctly. This then resulted in good flavor but not so appetizing mac n cheese. So, sadly this meal was a bust for me and really disappointing. 

This weeks reading discussed the relationship between occupation and self, and how by choosing and practicing any given occupation within your free time, you are able to gain insight into who you are as a person. It also suggested that this relationship is transactional allowing for both parties to gain and give to the other. I think this is true especially in my new occupation because it challenges me which keeps me engaged and allows me to provide food for myself if I'm successful in creating a good meal or not. This also reflects that importance of self-knowledge, self awareness, self esteem and self perception. Going into this I knew that I was not a good cook and that this would be a challenging and frustrating task, but that is also what made it so enticing. I was aware that I would require something that would challenge me in order to keep me engaged and allow for progress to been seen. This progress would be allow for my self perception and self esteem within the kitchen to grow, which will allow me to feel more comfortable in the kitchen. This occupation has allowed for a lot of growth within my experiences as a person in the kitchen. I have gained confidence and have begun to enjoy being in the kitchen and cooking for me and my boyfriend. The article also talked about how occupations can play different roles in each persons life and how that role can impact the interactions with the occupation, these roles are known as recruiters, servants, and mirrors. The recruiter occupations pull other consequences into play, the servant fosters achievements and goals through occupations, and the mirror occupations reflect the self of the participant. I believe that my particular occupation falls under two of these categories. I think it falls under the recruiter style of occupation because it has allowed me to gain skills that I didn't know I had or that I have just recently obtained through doing my occupation, like patience and trusting myself in the kitchen, I have also gained more confidence cooking due to this new occupation. The second style of occupation that I believe crock pot cooking falls under is the servant, because I have always wanted to learn to cook and this is a perfect gateway into cooking with limited time, it has also helped me learn to enjoy cooking and embrace the process of failure along with some of my successes. 
 

Ingredients

• 1 box uncooked macaroni 
• 1 ⅓ cups evaporated or whole milk 
• 1 3/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce or buffalo sauce(optional)
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 oz cream cheese room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions

• Spray 2.5-4 quart crock pot with non stick spray.
• Pour in dry pasta, then add evaporated milk, broth, butter, salt, sriracha, and pepper. Stir to combine, breaking up the butter as much as possible but know that it will still be chunky.
• Cover and cook on low for 1 hour. Stir well (it might be clumpy, but will come apart easily as you stir). Cover and cook for 30 more minutes or until al dente or slightly firm (you don’t want it too soft at this point).
• Cut the cream cheese into very small pieces and stir into the pasta with the cheddar cheese. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes, then stir to melt. 
• Serve and ENJOY!!